Help! Someone Stole My Hippo!
by Cable Addict
Summary: Who kidnapped Bert 'The Hippo' Sciuto?


Author: Cable Addict  
Rating: K  
Word Count: 1,100  
Paring: Tony and Ziva are married. Does that count?  
Challenge: Bert the Hippo Challenge on NFA. (A little late, I know, but I figured I could still do it.)  
Summery: Bert the Hippo is kidnapped! Er…Hipponapped! Bert the Hippo is hipponapped!  
Disclaimer: I do not own anything except for Micah DiNozzo Andy Sciuto and Luca DiNozzo.

--

"Aunt Abby?" 4-year-old Micah DiNozzo asked one Friday afternoon, and Abby looked up from her microscope.

"Yes Mike?"

"Who gave you Bert?" He squeezed the hippo and it let out a fart which caused the little boy to giggle madly.

Abby grinned at her nephew's curiosity. "My little brother Andy did."

Micah smiled. "I'm gonna have a little brother soon."

"I know! Are you excited?" Micah nodded and his brown hair flopped into his face. "Good."

"Mommy and Daddy say his name is going to be Luca."

"That's cute!" Abby squealed.

"What's cute Abs?" Tony asked as he walked into the lab, followed closely by his 6-month pregnant wife Ziva.

"Luca DiNozzo!" She answered happily and Tony sighed.

"Micah, that was supposed to be a secret."

"Sorry Daddy." He pouted.

Tony rolled his eyes. "It's okay Champ." He opened his arms and Micah ran to his father. "You're mom's come to take you home!" Micah pulled leaned back and looked his father in the eyes.

"Do I have to?" He asked, sighing dramatically.

"You don't want to spend some quality with your Mom?" Tony asked, being overly dramatic.

"No! It's just that I want to hang out with Aunt Abby!" He explained, crossing his arms.

"That's okay Mike! I'll see you on Monday!" Micah frowned but nodded.

"I'll go pack my backpack." He then walked slowly over to his pile of things.

"So," Abby turned her attention back to her friends, "Luca?" She grinned.

"Yes." Ziva spoke up. "Luca David DiNozzo." Abby squealed again and pulled Ziva into a bone crushing hug.

"Abs! Be careful!" Tony cried out and the two women looked at him.

"Tony, I am pregnant, not dying." Ziva said, causing Tony to look sheepish.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Champ? Are you ready yet?" He called over and Micah looked up.

"Yup!" He ran over to Ziva. "Let's go!"

"Hey!" Abby cried. "Do I get a hug?" Micah nodded, handed his backpack to Ziva and ran over to hug his aunt. "I'll miss you!"

"I'll miss you too Aunt Abby." He then turned and ran back over to his mother, grabbed her hand and pulled her over to the elevators.

"Bye Daddy! I'll see you later!"

"See ya Champ!" Tony called just before the elevator doors shut.

"So how's Ziva handling desk work?" Abby asked, a smirk on her face.

"She hates it. Said she'd rather be out on a stakeout. And if there's anything that Ziva hates more than stakeout, it deskwork."

"And when you leave things in your pockets when she does the laundry."

Tony raised his eyebrows. "She told you that?" Abby nodded.

"Yup."

Tony grinned sheepishly. "Well, I always forget to check them. Anyway, Ziva always overreacts! She always bites my head off!"

"Excuses, excuses. You should get back to work before Gibbs decides to put your head on a stick and wave it in front of McGee's face to scare him."

Tony laughed as he walked back to the elevator. "I'll see you later Abs."

"Yup. See ya Tony!"

--

The next day, after Abby had turned on and greeted her computers, she began to greet her toys. "Good morning Chickybabies! Good morning Bob the bobblehead! Good morning Bert!" She glanced over at Bert's normal resting place and was shocked when she didn't see him. "Bert?" She quickly scanned the room. "Bert?" Panic flowed through her body. "Bert where are you?!" She pushed her desk chair out of the way and searched under the desk. She ran over to her futon and tossed it aside. She opened cabinets and drawers, quickly rifling through them in her search for her stuffed friend. "Bert!" She wailed, and ran into the other room of her lab. She looked under the computer station, and sighed when all she saw were the wires and cords that were plugged into the power strip. She checked under the chrome table that was in the middle of her lab, behind her mass-spectrometer, behind and above her refrigerator. Not finding him, she ran out into the hall and scanned the floors. "No!" She cried and slid down the wall. "No! No! NO!"

The elevator dinged, indicating a new arrival to the floor and she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Abs?" Gibbs' kind voice asked softly. "What's wrong?"

"Oh Gibbs!" She cried. "It's horrible! Dreadful! Awful!"

"Abby, what's wrong?"

"Bert's missing!" She cried into his chest.

Gibbs' face scrunched up in confusion. "Bert?"

"My farting hippo! He's gone! I've looked everywhere and I can't find him!" She was wailing now, tears were flowing freely down her face. Gibbs sighed and held her until her tears stopped.

--

Monday morning the elevator doors dinged open and Ziva, Tony and Micah walked into the lab.

"Abby?" Tony called.

"Over here." She said sadly, appearing from behind the many computers.

"I heard about Bert." Tony said softly and Abby nodded glumly. "And I think I've found him." Abby's ears perked up at this.

"You did?! Cuz I looked online and couldn't find anything. Not that I would ever replace him. He's one of a kind ya know."

Tony nodded and looked down at his son. "Micah?"

The-four-year old bit his lip. "Auntie Abby," He began before reaching into his backpack and pulling out the hippo.

"Bert!" Abby yelled and snatched him from Micah's grasp. "Where were you? I've been looking all over for you! Where'd you find him Mike?" Her face fell. "Wait a minute. How'd you get him?"

Micah looked at his parents, who had stern looks on their faces, and then turned back to Abby. "I stole him."

"You what?" Abby asked, wondering if she had heard him correctly.

"I stole him."

"Why?" She asked, wondering why her nephew would steal her best friend.

"Because…" He searched the air for an answer and sighed. "Because I like him. I didn't know that you would be so sad. I'm really sorry." His eyes were starting to water.

Abby bit her lip. How could she stay mad at a four-year-old? Sighing, she pulled him into a hug. "If you would ever like to _borrow_ Bert, would you please ask me?" She felt Micah nod and smiled. "Ok."

"As a punishment, you will be staying home with me today." Ziva said and Micah nodded.

"That sounds fair." He hung his head and slowly walked to the elevator, his parents following not far behind.

Abby waited for the elevator doors to close before speaking again. "Thank you Hippopotamus Gods. Thank you for bringing Bert home safe." She hugged her friend and smiled when she heard him fart.

--

A/N: Thanks for reading! Please review!


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